What does "dignity" mean?
The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character.
Dignity
/ˈdɪɡnɪti/ noun
noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character.
- Grammar: dignity is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: self-respect, worth, address, appropriateness.
- Useful contrasts: abasement, abasing, abjection.
- Usage evidence: Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide.
How to use "dignity"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dignity" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dignity" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dignity" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dignity" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dignity" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "self-respect" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dignity", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character. countable, uncountable
"He uttered this ... with great majesty, or, as he called it, dignity."
- 2 the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect wordnet
- 3 Decorum, formality, stateliness. countable, uncountable
"The reception room was sacred to the dead wife. Her shiny portrait hung upon the wall - similar, doubtless, in all respects to the one which would be pasted on her tombstone. A little piece of black drapery had been tacked above the frame to lend a dignity to woe. But two of the tacks had fallen out, and the effect was now rakish, as that of a drunkard's bonnet."
- 4 formality in bearing and appearance wordnet
- 5 High office, rank, or station. countable, uncountable
"Note the preſumption of this Scythian ſlaue: I tel thee villaine, thoſe that lead my horſe Haue to their names tytles of dignitie, And dar’ſt thou bluntly cal me Baiazeth?"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 high office or rank or station wordnet
- 7 One holding high rank; a dignitary. countable, uncountable
"These filthy dreamers […] speak evil of dignities."
- 8 Fundamental principle; axiom; maxim. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves."
- 9 Respect. countable, proscribed, sometimes, uncountable
"That in such an undertaking, if put on its right footing, and treated with dignity by the State, you would have the cheerful assistance of the first scientific teachers who have turned their philosophy to such practical uses, I have no doubt."
Antonyms
Example
"Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dignity"?
Common synonyms include: self-respect, worth, address, appropriateness, atticism, augustness.
How do you use "dignity" in a sentence?
Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide.
How do you pronounce "dignity"?
Pronounced /ˈdɪɡnɪti/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English dignyte, from Old French dignité, from Latin dignitās (“worthiness, merit, dignity, grandeur, authority, rank, office”), from dignus (“worthy, appropriate”), from Proto-Italic *degnos, from Proto-Indo-European *dḱ-nos, from *deḱ- (“to take”). See also decus (“honor, esteem”) and decet (“it is fitting”). Cognate to deign. Doublet of dainty. In this sense, displaced native Old English weorþsċipe, which became Modern English worship.